He has been lurking around for almost four years, making us believe that we are done with him in order to better pull a new variant out of his hat. We would like to live without it, but Covid-19 is still here, and now the time has come to live with it.
But after many confinements, curfews and vaccine boosters, Covid-19 and everything related to it, many no longer want to hear about it. However, contaminations are on the rise again, pushing the government to accelerate the start of the vaccination booster campaign. It opens this Monday two weeks early. The objective is always the same: to protect the most vulnerable people and avoid overcrowding of hospital services that are already exhausted.
Anger, indifference and misinformation
Covid-19, for many, is an even more explosive subject than the price of fuel. ” Fed up ! Leave us alone and stop trying to scare us, says Dorothée, 46, who responded to our call for testimonies. This disease kills the weakest like other diseases, so let’s stop dramatizing and wanting to vaccinate at all costs because we have to sell the rest of the vaccines that we paid for at a high price. An opinion shared by Arwen, 70, who treated her Covid-19 “with essential oils”, convinced that “the messenger RNA vaccine modifies DNA”.
Now, “I don’t care about Covid anymore, I don’t care!” », confides Anthony, 43 years old. “I had it last year, I just had a little fatigue and a little sore throat. So the mask is over, and I will not go and get tested if I have symptoms since the tests are not free. As for the vaccine booster, I don’t even know if I’m eligible for it! The virus, we have to live with it, that’s what the government wants, to wait wisely for it to arrive.” For Dr Benjamin Davido, infectious disease specialist and Covid-19 crisis referral doctor at the Raymond-Poincaré hospital in Garches (Hauts-de-Seine), “there remains misinformation and ignorance about the current risk and the arrival of new vaccines, with and without messenger RNA. And it is extremely harmful: the absence of information and support from public authorities fuels this conspiracy.”
At the same time, “an increase in the number of visits to the emergency room for suspected Covid-19 for all ages is observed,” Public Health reported at the end of August. SOS Médecins medical procedures also increased by “41%” in one week. And “an increase in the number of cases is observed in all regions”. Enough to worry the Order of Physicians, for whom “the challenge is to act to deal with the new wave present for several weeks across the entire territory”.
Lack of pedagogy and anticipation
Problem: “There is not enough education and anticipation on the part of the authorities,” repeats Dr. Davido. No one can say the number of contaminations this week, since we no longer have monitoring tools. It’s complicated to encourage the population to get vaccinated, when we can’t even quantify the health threat, even in hospital! At the moment, within the AP-HP, there are major debates about whether we, the caregivers, will put the mask back on in the hospital in the event of a resumption of the triple epidemic of Covid-19, seasonal flu and bronchiolitis. , while the one experienced last year put the hospital in surge condition. This is anything but prevention! »
Moreover, for Sophie, 45, this recall campaign starts too late: “My loved ones and I would have liked to be vaccinated two weeks earlier. Why did you wait when we know that the start of the school year favors increases in contamination and that the wave was reported at the end of August? For my husband and I, it’s too late, we caught it this week, although we were vigilant because we were fragile. As for our parents, they wanted to make an appointment as soon as possible but the pharmacist is still waiting for the vaccines.”
“We are already a month behind the recall campaign,” adds Dr. Davido. It should have started at the beginning of September, ahead of the epidemic resumption. Today, there are no braking measures, no monitoring of contamination, no barrier gestures, no early vaccination, and too little communication. Why have the health authorities, who advocate “living with the virus”, failed to implement the same communication and prevention actions as for the flu, for which patients do not ask themselves the question of to get vaccinated or not, they do it. Many patients wonder about the benefit of an anti-Covid booster when they are at risk. Many have lost sight of the point of this vaccination: to protect against serious forms and to reduce the burden that Covid-19 places on hospitals and emergency departments.”
An “updated” vaccine
“However, we have an updated and effective vaccine, a tailor-made response to the virus,” underlines the infectious disease specialist. News which nevertheless resonates with many readers eligible for the vaccine. Like Catherine, 58 years old: “I will be at the door on October 2! »And from Francine, 78 years old: “I have been vaccinated against the flu for ten years and I will be vaccinated against Covid, given that I received four doses and that I have never had the virus”.
The same goes for Marie-Line, a 64-year-old retired nurse: “I have been vaccinated four times and I have never had Covid. I will do my recall, and I will put the mask back on if necessary.” A caution that Eric, 55, also applies: “Having several pathologies – heart attacks, stents, pulmonary embolism – Covid remains dangerous for me”.
“People at risk of serious illness are eligible for the vaccine,” recalls Dr. Davido, “as well as those around them. We have all the necessary means to protect ourselves, it’s up to us to do what it takes to make this campaign effective.”